Miguel Aguíñiga Rodríguez, Secretary of Tourism of Baja California, in an interview with REPORTUR.mx He stressed that the state is working on sustainable tourism, increasing the Magical Towns and taking advantage of the connectivity and promotion generated by the Mar de Cortés Alliance.
What actions are being taken by the Baja California Ministry of Tourism to continue promoting the tourism industry?
We are working a lot with travel agents to promote this multi-destination, because after the pandemic, people are looking to enjoy more and see more places in less time.
We have destinations like Tecate, which is our Magic Town and the only one that has a border with the United States. We have been exploring and working to improve other sites in Baja California so that they can be Magical Towns. There are several places with the potential to be such, such as Puerto Nuevo in Rosarito, Valle de Guadalupe, and San Felipe, the port where the Peninsula begins with the Sea of Cortez, in the Gulf of California, which is the world’s aquarium. For now, we announced on August 6 the Magical Neighborhood, La Chinesca, in Mexicali, which is the largest Chinatown in Latin America; There is a whole attraction around this millennial community with very interesting tourist products.
Tell us about the importance of medical tourism for Baja California
Health and wellness tourism for Baja California represents around 15% of visitors who declare that their main visit to the state is for this. More than 4.2 million visitors in 2022 were attracted by the medical or aesthetic offer. Mainly bariatric, plastic surgeries, heart, eye or dental issues. For this, tourists come mainly from Southern California, Arizona and Canada.
What are the expectations of the Sea of Cortez alliance?
For the state it is very positive, because it gives visitors more options to discover destinations; we have to take advantage of international connectivity like the one that Los Cabos has with the European market; the connection between Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit. It is important because the market is not only Baja California, it can reach Tijuana and also connect Baja California Sur, Nayarit, Sinaloa and Sonora, which have much to enrich the experience of travelers.
How is hotel development in the state?
A few days ago, together with our Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, we announced two new hotels of the Marriott chain, one in Tijuana and the other in Mexicali, which will begin construction in 2024. In addition, Bayan Tree in Valle de Guadalupe will begin operations in the first quarter of next anus.
What are the growth expectations in terms of tourist arrivals this year?
We expect to receive around 30 million visitors this year, something quite positive that is above 2022 and 2019. We were one of the destinations where we recovered the fastest, because our main market is the road from southern California, Arizona and Nevada .
In 2023 we are very much in line with 2022, which is the year in which the world opened its doors and all destinations worldwide are committed to bringing more tourism. Places like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco are almost giving away trips for tourists to arrive. But our figures are positive, which means that people liked the experience they had and want to repeat it or are recommending it to the state, so our goal is to stay even when we have competition with countries trying to bring tourism to their countries. places of origin.
What can you mention about tourism and care for the environment in Baja California?
We have to keep a balance, attract economic benefits, ensure that destinations can benefit from tourism, but always conserving and preserving our nature. For example, in the state there are impressive places like San Quintín, where the berries are produced and exported to the world; From the ocean of the Sea of Cortez, we mainly export almost all of the product to Asia, with a significant spillover, but we have to reduce the impact that is generated. We are educating citizens to care for and protect what we have; We work with the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), the National Fund for Tourism Promotion (Fonatur) and the Secretary of the Navy (Semar), to be able to enforce the laws and what is already ready in a matter of density and use, is carried out. One of the axes of our Ministry of Tourism is to inform the tourist so that they can also help and take care of what we are preserving in terms of the state’s natural wealth.
